


Noct Writes Takari Week 2020

by NoctIsFishing



Series: Digimon Prompt Library [7]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: F/M, Prompt Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25938547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoctIsFishing/pseuds/NoctIsFishing
Summary: A collection of fluffy & romantic ficlets for a week-long celebration of Takari by yours truly.
Relationships: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya
Series: Digimon Prompt Library [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1443730
Comments: 21
Kudos: 30





	1. Day 1: Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~HAPPY TAKARI WEEK~*~*~*~*~*~  
> I'll be posting one a day this week (August 16 - 22).  
> Since this is a Tumblr event these prompt fills will show up there sooner if you want to follow along.
> 
> Also follow @takariweek to praise the others who are participating <3
> 
> I imagined most of these prompts with their _Digimon Adventure tri._ ages in mind. (save for Days 3 and 4, which I'll leave up in the notes for those). The one fic I've written with this ship is _DoreDore_ but I figured there's nothing wrong with writing more Takari :D

“So, Yamato’s concert is this Sunday, right?” Hikari asked Takeru as they walked their regular route home.

Takeru hummed in response. “He’s been having trouble getting everyone to go. It’s bad enough that Taichi’s soccer game is on the same day.”

“I mean, Taichi’s been having trouble, too. He can’t even ask Sora to come.”

“Hey, Yamato’s been wanting to invite her, too.”

They shared a look that prompted the both of them to laugh.

“Poor Sora - they’re going to make her choose! That is, if either of them even step up and ask her out.”

Takeru chuckled to himself as he watched Hikari walk a little further ahead from him. The thought of telling her how he felt bubbled up inside him - he was just waiting for the right moment.

“Were you going with anyone to the concert?” she asked suddenly.

And that was when he found his chance.

“Well, yeah.” he replied. “I just haven’t asked her yet.”

“Is it someone I know?” 

“Actually, you do.”

“Oh?” Hikari turned to him as she walked with her eyebrows raised.

“I haven’t told her how much I like her. I’ve actually been wanting to ask her out for a while now, but I wasn’t sure how she felt.”

“Come on, Takeru. I know you. Why not just do what you normally do and just ask her out to the concert?”

“I would, but her brother’s got a soccer game that day. I’m not sure if she’d be able to make it.”

Hikari stopped in her tracks, causing Takeru to stop as well. A knowing smile formed on his lips, ready for a stunned Hikari to see once she turned to meet him face-to-face. 

“How would she know if you were serious?” she asked, clearly skeptical about his confession. “You like to joke around a lot.”

“Well…” Takeru took a step forward and took her hand in his. “I’d hope that she knew me well enough to trust me.”

“Oh…”

Takeru noticed in her expression that she had started to realize that he _was_ serious, and her cheeks began to form a tinge of pink.

“Of course she’d want to go…” she mumbled, averting her eyes from his stare. “...but she wouldn’t want to disappoint her brother.”

“I understand. I could always ask her out some other time.”

Takeru loosened the grip of her hand to let go, but Hikari grabbed his wrist just before he turned.

“Taichi’s game is in the early afternoon. We could watch for a while and then leave early for Yamato’s concert.”

“I like your smart thinking. It’s a wonder I hadn’t asked you out sooner.”

As he grinned, Hikari giggled in return. He didn’t think he would be at all nervous about confessing his feelings, but now that he did, he felt just a little lighter.

They continued their walk home, now holding hands, and Takeru had another thought. “Should we tell our brothers about this yet?”

“We can let them figure it out on their own.”

The thought amused Takeru, and with Hikari’s carefree laugh, he was glad that she felt the same.

“Deal.”


	2. Day 2: First Kiss (or Teasing)

To Hikari, Takeru always had something funny to say. Every chance he got during school, he would pass by her desk and tell her a funny story, or crack a joke that made her burst into laughter every time.

Her favorite thing to joke about was the little notes they’ve seen the girls pass one to boys in secret, which normally led to a meeting where one of them confessed their feelings to the other.

“The next one could be yours, Hikari,” Takeru teased.

“ _You’re_ the flirt,” she retorted. “You’ll get one before I do.”

Then one day, in the middle of lunch period, Hikari slipped a folded piece of paper under Takeru’s desk while he went to the cafeteria. She wrote, _“Love, your secret admirer,”_ along with the time and place to meet her after school.

But just as the bell rang signalling the end of the school day, after she and Takeru exchanged their goodbyes, Hikari noticed a crumpled piece of paper fall from her desk.

She had no idea how long it had been there, and at first, she thought that Takeru had gotten wind of her plan all along, and he had thrown her note back to him. However, she felt a smile grace her lips when she flattened the piece of paper and read the writing aloud:

_ ‘I want to tell you something. Meet me behind the tennis court after school. Signed, your loverboy.’ _

The same place she put in Takeru’s note.

As expected, she found Takeru leaning against the chain-linked fence, with her neatly folded note visibly enclosed in his hand from where she stood. When she called his name to grab his attention, she held up the piece of paper in her hand as she approached.

Takeru smiled and shook his head.

“So, come to tell me something?” he asked when they met face to face.

“That’s what _your_ note said,” Hikari said, sticking her tongue out. “ _Mine_ just told you to meet me here.”

“What’s with that face?” Takeru laughed aloud, causing Hikari to laugh with him. 

She felt a little silly with going along with their joke and going as far as writing an actual letter, but at the same time, she was having fun.

“So,  _ loverboy _ ,” she added, playfully poking his shoulder. “Were you planning on telling me anything, after all?”

Takeru grinned. “Just that I was right about you getting a note.”

“Really? I’m sure there was more to it.”

Hikari always liked the way his eyes lit up when he smiled. She realized how close he was leaning towards her, or, was it her drawing closer to him?

“What about you? Why did you really want to meet me here?”

She had forgotten how tall he was, how he leaned over for his face to meet hers. She smiled a little, although she licked her lips.

“...To see if you were actually going to follow through.”

“Yeah...Sure…”

She couldn’t help but notice how close their noses were, and her eyes couldn’t look away from his lips. It was the ultimate tease, like who was going to be the first to get that note? Which one of them was going to be the first to admit that these notes weren’t for jokes? Which one of them was going to make the first move…?

Hikari lifted her heels for her lips to meet his. Closing her eyes, she took in the soft touch of his lips against hers, breathing in slowly as she took his in. For a moment, she realized her heart had been pounding all along. They went this far playing along, but she had no idea how he truly felt, and where their friendship would go after this.

When they broke off the kiss, she placed her hand on his chest, in which she felt his heart beating quickly.

Takeru breathed out a sigh.

“That was my first kiss, Hikari.”

Hikari looked at him in surprise. “You’re kidding.”

“Nah,” he said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t want to admit it at first.”

She still couldn’t believe it. He was popular with the other girls in class, and she wasn’t the only one he flirted with.  But staring at him with his cheeks showing a tinge of pink, his expression unusually bashful, she decided to believe he was telling the truth.

“Well, it was mine, too…” Hikari admitted, and she felt her cheeks burn at that. 

“Well, then,” Takeru lifted her chin with his finger. “What do you think about a second,  _ ‘secret admirer’ _ ?”

He may not have kissed a girl before, but he certainly knew how to use his charm.

“Why not?”

And as Takeru brought her back to his lips, leaning down for her to meet him, Hikari wrapped her arms around his neck, glad that those notes brought as close to him as she truly wanted to be.


	3. Day 3: Digital World Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it be nice to have a cute little date in the Digital World? Just sayin'.
> 
> Here's my Tumblr post just to visualize the featured Digimon ;)  
> https://noctisfishing.tumblr.com/post/626811118242938880/takari-week-day-3-digital-world-visit

After school, Hikari and Tailmon arrived in the forest of the Digital World where they planned to meet Takeru and Patamon. Hikari thought it was odd that Takeru insisted on heading there first when they could have gone together, but she found herself distracted when Miyako pulled her to the side to ask about how she should wear her hair to get Ken to notice her more.

"He really couldn't wait, could he?" Hikari asked Tailmon as she surveyed the forest surroundings. "He didn't even say where he wanted us to meet."

"Why don't we try that way?" Tailmon replied, pointing down the nearby path. "I can sense Patamon's wings flapping."

Hikari usually trusted her partner's instincts; but this time, she was skeptical. "Can you, really?"

"Would I ever lead you astray, Hikari?"

"...Alright."

Down the path the two of them walked, taking in the light breeze that gently rustled the leaves above them and listening to the soft chirping of the birds fluttering about. They stopped at the side of a stream, where Hikari noticed Tailmon turning her head from side to side, as though she was looking for something.

"Did you lose him?" asked Hikari, curious to see what Tailmon would do next.

But Tailmon looked up and turned to her, with her big eyes blinking expectantly.

Just as Hikari opened her mouth to ask, her eyesight went dark. A pair of hands covered her eyes. In an instant, she realized Tailmon's odd behavior, and she knew that Takeru had a plan all along.

Hikari couldn't help but smile. "What are you trying to pull here, silly?"

"Promise me you'll keep your eyes closed, and I'll lead you," he said with amusement in his voice.

"I promise."

She felt him remove his hands from her eyes and placed them on either side of her hips.

"It's just at the end of the stream up ahead."

The sound of Patamon's giggle made Hikari uneasy.

"You're not going to lead me into a huge lake or anything, are you? If you are, I'm taking you with me."

"Tailmon would probably kill me. Right?"

"Hmph," Tailmon added. Even though she figured she could trust Takeru, hearing Tailmon still put her a little more at ease.

Soon, the sound of the tranquil stream disappeared, and Takeru motioned her to stop.

"Open your eyes," he said.

When she did, Hikari gasped at the sight. Before them was a large field of pink and red flowers. There were also what looked like sunflowers, which, to her intrigue, were dancing in their spots.

"We found where the Sunflowmon live!" Patamon said with excitement.

Hikari looked in amazement as the plant Digimon danced in circles around the flowerbeds. She also observed Digimon shaped like orbs of pink and green flying around the Sunflowmon. One of them whizzed past from behind them, causing Hikari to yelp and grab Takeru.

"Looks like the Lalamon are just as excited," added Tailmon.

"About what?" Hikari asked.

"To meet you!"

Hikari turned with a look of surprise to Takeru who grinned back.

"Not bad for a first date in the Digital World, huh?" Takeru took her hand in his. "Let's go."

As soon as they reached the gathering, Takeru stepped out of the way to let the Sunflowmon and Lalamon gather around Hikari with excitement. One of the Sunflowmon approached her with a wreath of azaleas. Without question, Hikari kneeled and bowed her head for the Sunflowmon to place the wreath atop her head.

The other Digimon surrounding her gasped in awe once Hikari raised her head.

"She's as pretty as a flower!" Patamon chimed.

Hikari giggled as she kissed the top of the Sunflowmon's head in thanks. Then she took notice of the Lalamon, who flew around both Patamon and Tailmon, one of them placing a wreath of azaleas on each of their heads.

"She's just as beautiful," said Takeru, extending his hand to take hers.

As he helped her up, Hikari found herself standing so close to him. She stared at him as his eyes found their way into hers, and she wanted to kiss him to thank him for showing her the Sunflowmon's village.

The bursts of giggles surrounding them made her hesitate.

"What is it?" he asked, looking confused.

On second thought, she realized she didn't have to care. She moved forward until her lips pressed against his, causing the flowers and buds to go, "aww" collectively.

"Thank you, Takeru," Hikari said with a smile.


	4. Day 4: Grown Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in the future with Adventure 02 Epilogue careers. Also, I hope you are ~*~*~expecting~*~*~ more fluff _(clears throat loudly)_.

It was the end of the school day, and, as usual, Hikari opened the front door of the school house to meet a whole gathering of parents. The students in her kindergarten class ran past her, flooding out of the doors as they each made their way to their parents who had been waiting for them.

One by one, each student waved their goodbyes to Hikari with bright smiles that made their parents smile in turn. Hikari smiled and waved back from where she stood, happy and relieved that she had another good day of teaching on the books.

As books would go, Hikari's next order of business was to wait for her successfully published author husband to meet her and take her home.

While the front of the school yard emptied out, Hikari felt a light tug at the bottom of her cardigan. One of her students, Tomoko, stood beside her quietly.

"Ah, Tomoko!" said Hikari. "Looks like your mother might be running late. I'm waiting for someone, too. Let's wait together, shall we?"

Tomoko nodded, and Hikari took her hand to walk her to the nearby park bench to sit. Hikari looked down and noticed the girl staring curiously. Tomoko was one of the quiet students, but Hikari could sense her curiosity right away from where she had been staring.

That was when Hikari giggled. "Wanna know something about waiting?"

Tomoko looked up at her and nodded again.

"There are a lot of things you'll be patient for. The people we are waiting for - me, my husband; you, your mother - we have the patience knowing that they will arrive soon. But there are some things that you might wish to come sooner."

" _Hambagu,_ " Tomoko said.

" _Hambagu?_ "

"Mmhmm! When Mommy says she will make it for dinner, I want to eat it right away!"

Hikari laughed, knowing that Tomoko understood her right away. "I'm sure you do!"

"What's this about _Hambagu_? Now I want some."

Hikari turned to see that Takeru had arrived and was standing over her by the park bench. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I'll make it for you when we get home," Hikari replied, smiling cheerfully.

"Ah, Tomoko!" A woman appeared behind Takeru, and she rushed to Tomoko's side. She then bowed to Hikari hastily. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Takaishi! Please forgive me for being late!"

"Don't worry about it, it's no rush!"

"Thank you, and sorry again."

Tomoko left with her mother holding hands and using her free hand to wave back at Hikari with a grin. When they had left and it was just Hikari alone with Takeru, that was when he greeted her with a kiss.

"So, what was the _Hambagu_ talk all about?" Takeru asked.

"I was just being chatty about waiting, and how sometimes it's hard to be patient."

"I could only imagine what you mean by that."

Hikari sensed the sarcasm in his tone as he looked down. Her hand was already flat against her belly, where Tomoko had been staring at earlier, and Takeru placed his hand above hers.

"Just a few more months now," he said, the two of them sharing a smile.

"I can't wait to meet her."

Hikari felt a bump against her hand, which nearly caused her to jump.

"She might be feeling the same," Takeru said jokingly. Then, they turned and started to walk toward their way home. "Until then, why don't we go home and make some _Hambagu_?"

"You really want that now, don't you?"

"I can't stop thinking about it now."


	5. Day 5: Taichi and Yamato Step In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was posted a little later after I normally planned because I had second thoughts about my original prompt fill. I thought was pretty silly in my imagination, but I didn’t think it was my best.
> 
> But my second try came out a little better. It seems longer than the ones I’ve written so far but it still has the touch of humor and softness that I intended to put in the first place.

“Leave me alone.”

Those were the last words that Hikari uttered to Takeru before turning into her apartment complex and shutting the door of the front gate in his face.

“Hikari, please!” Takeru shouted. “Can’t we just talk this out?”

There was no response from her - only her heavy footsteps stomping further down the hall. 

Takeru was at a loss of what to do. After months of being a couple, and even years of knowing her, he learned to recognize those times that she faced her own problems she didn't want to talk about and needed space. But she hadn’t been this moody for this long.

Seeking advice from Miyako was his initial route, but turned out to be the worst. It had been obvious that Hikari had confided in Miyako about her troubles, and combined with her direct nature, Takeru wondered what got her so irritated.

Why Takeru even mentioned it to Daisuke was beyond him. He ended up spending the whole lunch hour at the cafeteria with Daisuke and Ken, listening to Daisuke chat about more than what he wanted to hear - surprisingly, nothing about making moves on Hikari - only to receive the minimal but agreeable piece of advice: “Girls are confusing, dude.”

“What else should I do?” Takeru asked.

“Just wait it out, I guess. If worse comes to worse, though, think I could ask her out?”

And there it was.

Had he been smarter about it, Takeru would have gone to Iori first and not last. Even though Iori tended to keep his distance from everyone else’s drama, Takeru admired him for withstanding Miyako’s daily rambles about everything, even when it came to him and Hikari.

“It is midterm week, you know,” Iori said. “People are bound to handle stress in different ways. Miyako certainly is, and you might be, too. Maybe you should give yourself and Hikari some space and approach her when midterms are over.”

Takeru left Iori’s apartment complex with his head hanging low. He lifted his hand toward his head and realized he wasn’t wearing his lucky hat. He began his walk home with his head hanging lower, remembering that Hikari had taken that hat from him to tease him, saying that she thought it looked better on her.

It really did.

He paused in his walk as he stopped at the front gate to the Yagami apartment complex. Staring at the call box, he realized that all of his friends came into the agreement in letting her be. Iori’s sound advice weighed the heaviest in his mind, and it caused Takeru to stare at the sidewalk and turn his foot to continue his way home.

Except the sidewalk was blocked in front of him. His first sight was a soccer ball hanging inside of a net, along with two pairs of feet and matching trousers of a school uniform.

“Taichi? Yamato?” Takeru said when he looked up. “What are you up to?”

“About to save your butt,” Taichi replied. Before Takeru knew it, Taichi had gone behind him and grabbed his shoulder to push in the direction opposite from home.

“H-Hey! Where are we going?”

“Hikari’s been moodier than usual and I hate seeing her that way. We’re going to help you to get her to cheer up.”

“But how can I do that if she won’t even talk to me?”

“Takeru, think about it,” added Yamato who pushed Takeru’s other shoulder. “You have a way with words and talking doesn’t seem to work. So how else can you get to her?”

After turning a few corners and walking down the street, a familiar shop came into view. It was the only shop that stood out with the vibrant display of various colors outside of it.

The three of them stopped in front of the flower shop, with Sora turning around from the inside to wave, and Takeru realized in an instant.

“You find a way to her heart,” he said, knowing exactly what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in the prompt for Day 6. :)


	6. Day 6: Public Displays of Affection (or Pining)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from Day 5. I really liked how this two parter turned out after the rewrite. Thanks for reading. <3

Two days of midterms down, one more to go. As the ringing bell signaled that time on the midterm was up and that it was the end of the school day, Hikari set her pencil down, picked up her bag, and headed straight for the door. Not once did she turn around to see how Takeru was faring on midterms, or even how he was feeling about her.

Part of her felt too embarrassed to face him. Perhaps she had been hanging around Miyako too much that the littlest of her pet peeves got the best of her. It wasn’t that hard for Hikari to manage her time and stress of studying, but having a boyfriend on top of everything else was still something she had yet to get used to.

She felt even worse after storming off on Takeru earlier that week. It was cold of her to do that to him, and she was trying to figure out how to confront him to apologize.

“Do you really have to wear that silly hat around me?” Miyako asked her while they visited the local bakery after school.

Hikari turned from the shelves of baked goods to stare at Miyako, tapping the purple fedora on her head with a wink and a smile. “Don’t you think it suits me, Miyako?” 

“You two were made for each other,” Miyako said as she rolled her eyes.

Although Hikari giggled in return, her smile faded the longer she thought about him.

“I should probably head home. Midterm week isn’t over, after all.”

“I guess you’re right, but at least you’re getting a pick-me-up in the meantime.” 

Miyako had ordered two chocolate cornets and handed one to Hikari, which got her to smile just a little bit.

~~

Takeru leaned against the front gate of the Yagami’s complex, holding the bouquet of tulips in one hand. As most of his plans went, he played by ear based on Hikari’s actions which he observed throughout the week. Even though the most they’ve said to each other since then was “good luck” and “I’m sure you’ll rock that exam,” they both had seemed to cool their heads from their last heated incident, and Hikari still wanted to keep her distance.

But he was tired of seeing her look so sad.

“Yo, Takeru,” Taichi called, holding his hand up in greeting. Sora was close behind him and chimed her greeting once she saw Takeru.

“I’m guessing you haven’t talked to her yet,” Sora said, acknowledging the flowers from her shop.

“Not yet,” Takeru replied solemnly. “I figured I’d wait here until she showed up.”

“Well, you might be waiting a while, bud,” Taichi warned. “She’s out with Miyako, and you know how long they can take when they go out.”

I’ll wait as long as it takes, Takeru thought to himself. It was then that he noticed the afternoon sun hindering his view of the street in front of him, and he realized that his head felt bare without that lucky fedora of his. It bothered him that he couldn’t adjust its brim to block the sunlight from his eyes, but as long as he got the chance to see Hikari, he was willing to accept standing there with his hair uncovered.

Yet, he didn’t think he would see his fedora again so soon, better yet, being worn by Hikari herself.

“Ah, not as long as I thought,” Taichi added.

Takeru straightened himself as he saw a surprised Hikari with Miyako at the corner across the street. Save for waiting for the street light to turn green, Takeru rushed over to that corner to meet them.

He watched as Hikari walked down the sidewalk the rest of the way, the fedora tilted to the side and fitting perfectly on her head. He almost couldn’t handle how good she looked, and he nearly lost the grip of the bouquet in his hand.

As best as he could, he held himself together, and he waited for her to approach him and meet him face to face so that he could talk to her and hand her the flowers.

But Hikari had a different idea. She didn’t stop where she could face him and she went even closer, throwing her arms around his neck and closing the gap between them with a kiss.

Luckily, Takeru grabbed the flowers in time, just as he let slip from being caught off guard by her lips.

Even when she broke off the kiss, he was left breathless.

“I’m sorry, Takeru,” Hikari breathed with tears forming in her eyes. “None of this was your fault. You’re my best friend and my first boyfriend, and I don’t want to mess any of this up…”

“So, that’s what this was about?” 

Learning the real reason was another surprise to Takeru, and all he could do was crack a smile.

“I feel so silly. You must’ve thought I hated you and went through the trouble of getting me flowers…”

“I just didn’t know what was going on until you told me.” He wiped her tears with the curl of his finger and held the bouquet in front of her when she let go of him.

“Tulips…” Hikari took in their scent as she breathed deep. “These are my absolute favorites.”

“I figured you needed a little pick-me-up from working hard on all those exams this week.”

“Takeru…” Hikari sniffled, cupping her free hand on his cheek. “This pick-me-up was the best. No offense, Miyako,” she added as she turned back to face their friend, who was now sniffling.

“None taken,” Miyako replied in an unnaturally high-pitched tone, covering her eyes that were wet with tears.

“I’m really sorry, Takeru. I hope you can forgive me.”

Takeru smiled at her pouting lips. “I’m glad you told me what was wrong. Besides, you’re talking to me again and you showed up here wearing my fedora. How can I not?”

With that, a smile finally formed on Hikari’s lips, the final touch that made Takeru feel like melting on the spot. Instead, he leaned over for a kiss with his lips melting into hers. 

He had forgotten where he stood and only knew he was with Hikari, being in each other’s arms and losing all sense of time. He might have imagined hearing “They really are made for each other” from Miyako’s muffled sobs, along with Sora’s comforting words and Taichi’s warnings to take it easy. 

But with Hikari’s smiling lips kissing back, he could absolutely care less about anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow's prompt is going to be "Comfort or Healing, Taking Care Of" and it's going to end on a good note but will be more angsty compared to the fluffier ones I've written this week. Makes for a bittersweet ending to the week, doesn't it? 
> 
> 'Til tomorrow then. <3


	7. Day 7: Comfort or Healing, Taking Care Of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is more driven with angst, as opposed to the fluffier pieces from the rest of the week. But lest we forget, this is a ship of Hope and Light. I hope* you get that feeling by the end of this <3
> 
> *no pun intended

The battle was won. The evil Devimon had been defeated. The Digital World was saved.

But Angemon was dying. Pieces of data disintegrated into the air as Angemon said his last words.

Takeru was shouting at him because none of it made sense. Why was Angemon telling him words of encouragement? Why did he sound so calm?

Why did it only have to be Takeru's partner to suffer?

The imagery shifted from bright holy light to the darkness of the room that he opened his eyes to. Takeru was still shouting, but he felt arms around his chest holding him back, and the warmth of tears spilling from his eyes. He realized by the sound of the other shouting voice behind him that it was Hikari holding him to try to calm him down.

Hearing Hikari's soothing voice eased his panic. He sat still in her arms, catching his breath and letting his heart rate slow down.

"You had that nightmare again," she said quietly.

"Yeah."

"You remember what happened in the end, don't you?"

It was an exercise Hikari went through with him whenever he had that nightmare: he would recount the moments when his Digimon partner was reborn and eventually evolved back to Patamon.

"And where is Patamon right now, Takeru?"

"He's safe, in the Digital World."

"And what about you?"

"I'm here at home, with you, and…"

Takeru realized he was sitting on the couch with Hikari. Turning to the coffee table, he saw their notebooks and pencils set on top. That was when he remembered he had gotten sleepy and felt like taking a nap.

He knew that Patamon was alive and well. The Devimon fight was years ago, and he and Patamon fought many other battles together and won since then.

But why was that nightmare always so vivid? As though it were only yesterday?

With a sigh, he turned around and rested his forehead on Hikari's shoulder. She rubbed his back gently without uttering a word. The nightmares didn't happen often, but they turned up at the times he felt that his life was going right. Both the Digital World and the Real World were at peace. He was able to see Yamato a lot more, and their parents reconciled their disagreements and found a way to remain good friends. Takeru was pretty popular among his schoolmates, and best of all, he was asked out by Hikari, his best friend and the girl of his dreams.

But these nightmares left an echo of hopelessness hanging above his head. Thinking about Yamato walking away whenever they didn't see eye to eye. Hearing his parents shouting at each other, just as they had in the past. The thought of losing Pegasusmon in a battle after one wrong move. And, if he were to lose Hikari…

Takeru felt the light touch of Hikari's lips as she pressed them against his forehead. It was then he realized that these doubts were only in his head. The nightmare was over. Patamon was alive. Nothing was perfect, but even if things went wrong, he didn't have to lose hope in making them right again.

Only Hikari was able to give him the light to guide him back to reality.

When he lifted his head up to meet her eyes, she brought her thumbs to wipe away the tears that were still on his lower lids.

"How many times do we have to tell you to stop being such a crybaby?" she asked.

In his moment of peace, the dark wisps of the nightmare finally cleared from his head, Takeru found it in him to laugh in response.

"Welcome back," Hikari whispered, with a smile that illuminated the room barely lit from the glow of the television in front of them. Takeru then pulled Hikari in to hold her close, grateful to have as his beacon of light in his moments of darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading along this week. I had so much fun writing Takari and reading from other talented writers as well! Until next time! xx


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